VBScript – Getting Started

Getting Started with VBScript

This section is for beginners who are copying and pasting example scripts.

My sample scripts will work on Windows 7, Server 2003/8 and XP.  Avoid other clients like Windows 98 unless you get theWSH updates

• Instructions to Create Your VBScript
• Example 1 –  A Simple Script to Display Your ComputerName
• Example 2 – A Script to Display Your VBScript Version Number

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Instructions to Create Your VBScript

1. Navigate to the page where you want to copy the example ‘VBScript.
2. Copy all the lines inside the blue section of my sample script (Ctrl + c).
3. Open notepad.exe, now paste the script text (Ctrl +V).
4. In notepad, go to the File Menu, Save As script.vbs  – The .vbs extension is vital, do not let it save as a .txt file.
5. To run the script simply double click your script.vbs (or what ever you called the file).

Example 1 –  A Simple Script to Display Your ComputerName

If you are ready to move on then try: – Creating Computers

Example 2 – A Script to Display Your VBScript Version Number

  (If this script fails then you need a Windows or XP machine.)

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Traps When Creating VBScripts

• You missed the first ‘ apostrophe – make sure you start at the beginning of the line.
• You execute the script a second time and get a  Code 80071329  – Object Already Exists, WSH message box.  The reason is that each object must have a unique name.  So if you created – say a user, you cannot run the script again without either modifying a line in the script, or deleting the first object.

Summary of VBScript Getting Started

The first section of the VBScript, sometimes referred to as the header, states the purpose of the script and declares variables in Dim statements.

I like to start the script proper with Option Explicit because it forces me to declare variables.  My reasoning is this, Option Explicit alerts me to errors, it halts the script if I miss spell a variable, or use the singular colItem whereas I declared the plural colItems in the Dim statement.

When we move into the middle section of the script, WMI prepares the ground by connecting to the root\cimv2.  In the example below, once objWMIService gets a handle on the namespace, we select DiskDrive from Win32_’s many objects.  Moving into the final section, VBScript loops through all the properties that we are interested in, and finally Echoes the results to screen.

See more VBScript examples:

• VBScript create users   • VBScript create contact  • Create contact Exchange  • VBS PwdLastSet

• VBScript create computer   • PowerShell create computer from spreadsheet  • Free Import Users Tool

• VBScript change password  • VBScript to create group  • SolarWinds Free WMI Monitor